"If you want to protect her, she must serve under me as my soldier. But just because her Mother is the henchman and the guardian of my daughter, doesn't mean that she's allowed to walk freely inside my Kingdom."
Somewhere in the Kruule barracks, the King along with his new young subject, as well as those who tried to escape and fight back that were captured are gathered...
"I am the King of Kruule, Castile Cruelle. From this point forward, you will serve as the henchman of Princess Celestine, as well as serving me as my soldier. Know that I do not show mercy to traitors."
Menacingly, his eyes brought fear to the young little girl.
"Those who dare stand against the Kingdom, those who dare to stand against me will meet the same fate as them."
The little girl's terrified eyes hovered towards those who have their knees on the ground and have their necks with a collar that are connected to each other with iron chains.
The fear of standing against the cruel King continues to imprint into the little girl's very eyes as she watch them begging and crying for their lives to the King.
The King who act deaf in front of those poor people snap his fingers. And in that instant, a surge of lightning ran through everyone's collar and then flow towards their whole body, electrocuting them without restraint or mercy.
For a little innocent kid, seeing a group of people slowly being killed while begging for help is more than enough to traumatize the child. It might even get to the point where the kid would forcefully suppress her overwhelming emotion to not get into trouble. Still, showing the little girl the death of those who tried to fight against the Kingdom did not find the King enough to make an innocent little girl fully submit to him.
The cruel King dragged the little girl just like those who were captured and enslave to the Cerberus Pit. There, they force them to watch a scene far more horrific than just being electrocuted to death.
"What is..."
The sound of the butcher using his horrifying cleaver knife hitting a piece of wood as one's arm is being chopped into pieces can be heard. the voices of unfortunate individuals screaming in pain as a band of knights brutally whips each of their whole body by a magic imbued tail of a stingray while also being healed at the same time to continue the torture echoes soundly throughout the entire Cerberus Pit.
"What is this place?!" Said one of the captive.
The others who were dragged to the Cerberus Pit along with the little girl are already beginning to be frightened by the scenes and sounds of despair. But, the little girl instead being in utter horror, is remaining silent as she focused onto the other area where a few captured fellow are being tortured by having their collars discharge a powerful lightning while also constantly being healed to prevent them from losing consciousness or dying.
"...!"
Other than Susun, Castile and some knights behind them, some find the scene of the quiet little girl both admiring and terrifying. To them, what they see is a young girl gazing with blank expression on her face to the ones that are brutally being tortured endlessly as if she has no pity towards those people. But in reality, the girl is just as terrified as them, she could puke out blood with her heart at the same time at any moment. However, after seeing those horrifying things as well as hearing those people begging and crying in pain, the only thing she could think of was:
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!"
She once tried to look at Susun. But the one that is glaring daggers at her is the King, as if telling her to look at those poor souls being tormented endlessly by just staring alone. While the one who she wants to notice her did not even take a glance to see her face.
Realizing that no one around her is going to help her, the only thing that she could think of doing is just by remaining silent and be obedient to the King's words. Hoping that she doesn't end up in those horrifying situation the people are enduring.
The King approaches the little girl with one of his hands carrying a collar. The little girl looks up to the cruel King, while the cruel King looks down on his new slave as he gave a warning.
"You're my soldier. You will offer your life to me, whether you like it or not. If you even think of betraying me one bit, you will share the same fate as them."
"...!"
...
"What are you going to do, Susun's little sister?"
"Ah...!"
David's words brought Rein from the memories of the past that flashed through her eyes back to the present. Only for her to go thinking deep once again.
"There's no other explanation. He definitely knows who I am, that means the rest have their identities revealed as well. That also means our plan have been leaked."
Rein thought about when the giant wall was about to rise from the ground. There she saw Susun pulled Christa to Edle's side, while she switched places with her.
"The way she pulled the girl with the crimson red eyes and switched sides with her... I don't know how she was able to get away and live at the same time but, she's definitely the one that leaked our plan."
As she is deep in her thoughts, David who is standing idly in front of her, sees a glimpse of a smile of relief and a tear shedding from her eyes.
Meanwhile, back inside her head, she is starting to become troubled of her thoughts.
"It doesn't matter if the plan had been leaked, one of them is in front of me right now! I must kill him! That is the order of King Castile. Otherwise, it'll be my life that will be taken. I don't wanna die. I must kill him! Right here, right now. I need to execute the plan without failure. But, that strange transforming weapon... The way he looks at me with an intent to fight and kill me... The things that I sensed coming from him as he asked me those questions earlier... I can't just stand here frozen and be killed! I'm not gonna die here!"
For a while now, Rein has been thinking the exact same thing over and over again inside her head. Eventually, she reached to the point that the only words that she could muster is:
"Kill him! I don't wanna die! I must kill him, or I'll be killed by the King! I'll be killed! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared!"
The fear of death awaiting her for failing the King's order, the fear of confronting a powerful enemy, the fear of being killed by the said powerful enemy. And, the thing that she felt coming from David.
"What is she..."
David, who is glaring steadily at Rein is left utterly confused as he watch the girl seemingly deranged and her head is in tremendous pain as the thoughts inside her head started mixing up. It's too painful that she is becoming extremely restless. She no longer even remember that they are surrounded by monsters and that a horde of them is heading her way.
"I see. The fear of death, huh... Media!"
David commands his arrows to shoot every single monster that are trying to attack the defenseless young woman. However, before the arrows arrives halfway...
*Glare*
"...!"
*Stomp!*
David's own eyes meets Rein's for a quick second. That quick second causes him to lose his focus on controlling his arrows as well as keeping it's strength intact. At that moment, the thoughts inside her head had reached its peak and eventually causes her to snap.
As if it's an explosion, after slamming the tail end of her staff, a powerful wave of lighting is sent outwards, resulting for the monsters being electrocuted at a horrifying degree, as well as disintegrating the light arrows that were supposed to shoot the enemies she killed.
"What?!"
The lightning wave continues to expand further. While the rest of the mob of monsters are mindlessly charging towards the lightning which kills them one after the rest, David immediately used the three arrows that are stuck inside the ogre's giant body to drag it's corpse in front of him.
Before long, the lightning reached the dead ogre and David. Thanks to the giant ogre's body, the wall of lightning only struck the corpse and kept David safe from the line of lightning.
"That's close call..." David let out a sigh of relief. He then walk to the side of the ogre to look at Rein once again.
"I... will not die here..." Said, Rein as she growls to herself.
"What? Being so afraid of death changed you this much?" David uttered.
What's in front of the veteran adventurer is no longer the same timid and quiet young adventurer who they meet in Reilaea not long ago. The name of the young girl in front of David is Rein Ednia, the young henchman of the Princess. A soldier of a damned Kingdom and it's cruel King. The mage who refused to die. The mage who will do whatever it takes to win the fight and live.